


Forever (A Lifetime Together)

by Endolphin



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blood, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Not Beta Read, Slow Burn Ish, Suicidal Thoughts, Vampire Choi Beomgyu, Werewolf Choi Soobin, pls bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24753508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endolphin/pseuds/Endolphin
Summary: Cursed with immortality, vampire Choi Beomgyu was forced to trudge and live through generations and generations until the day Earth meets its end.Accepting his fate, Beomgyu lived his life as it is until one night he came across a young abandoned wolf. Offering his knowledge and protection, Beomgyu took the wolf under his wing, adamant on making him strong, in hopes that someday, he would be strong enough to end his weary life.OrHe who longs to die meets he who fights to live
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin
Comments: 20
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first ever attempt on writing a fic and english isn't my first language so please don't be too harsh on me ;-;

Immortality.

Something that all humans yearned for. Kings and emperors would search far and wide for the most powerful witches in the region for said immortality. They would give out riches and sovereignty with no hesitation would they be granted an everlasting life in return. Such a life would surely grant them everlasting power, forever on top, forever feared, forever in charge.

Maybe they were too hungry for power, after having tasted the fresh air as they managed to stand on top of the other beings after years of being deemed powerless, they wanted to stay that way forever. They wanted to live forever, to stay on top of the food chain without having to worry about the God of Death creeping on the foot of their bed every time they declared war on another race.

Nothing was ever enough, humans were such greedy, greedy creatures. They were desperate, so very desperate to gain or to even taste a drop of this eternal life. It was something they deemed as abstract, something mythical almost, something so impossible that they shouldn’t have even thought about wanting in the first place, but they still believed that there was a way to get it, a way to obtain this so-called immortality.

And that was when vampires were first brought into the picture.

It was no secret that a vampire’s blood could grant longevity and could cure any kinds of incurable diseases; it was what the humans believed to be the next closest thing to immortality. Having failed at the attempt to gain everlasting lives from the witches, humans sought to prey down and murder these creatures of the night.

It was strange, as the creatures who survived solely from blood were being hunted down for theirs, the preys were preying down on their _supposed_ predators. The humans knew, however, that the sheer power a single adult vampire possessed could take down countless of their men with ease, which was why many of their targeted preys were newborns and the young. Humans would do anything to lengthen their supposedly brief lifespan and the vampires were very much aware of this.

They were undoubtedly angry; the vampires were furious. After years of staying quiet, enduring all these unruly behaviors from the humans, they fought back with the idea of putting these creatures back to where they belong, to teach them a lesson worth remembering.

This threatened the humans greatly, the fear of not being the ones on top anymore were far too great for them to think about anything else. They knew that the vampires could claim that spot easily from them without having to use much effort. Thus, they invited them to attend a peaceful negotiation, with the aim of forming a treaty, sealing a promise to never harm a single vampire ever again in exchange for the safety of the human race.

The vampires were promised a _peaceful_ negotiation.

If there was a list full of every single flaw a vampire carried, trusting would take over the number one spot.

Yes, they were too trusting. As opposed towards how others view them, vampires were more than just aggressive blood-sucking creatures. They cared about their families more than themselves, and they would do anything to protect their loved ones.

With peace being the primary aim inside their mind, the vampire elders entered the human territory, to attend this negotiation; And out of all the possibilities of events that could happen, the one that took place afterwards never once had crossed their mind. They were caught off guard and it was too late.

It was no negotiation. It was a trap.

The elders were ambushed inside the human territory, and the war that followed afterwards was one Beomgyu would never ever forget.

Throughout all the wars that had broken out between races, Beomgyu had never seen one so great, a bloodbath that caused the very extinction of his kin. With the absence of the elders, the rest of them couldn’t withstand the never-ending onslaught of humans.

Beomgyu could only watch in anguish as his race was wiped out by mortals with no remorse. Bodies dropped dead, corpses were taken away, and for some unknown reason, he was the only one alive.

How funny was that? The very thing that the humans had coveted all their lives was inside him all this time. He was holding the reason to why the humans were attacking them in the first place. The very thing that might have been the reason for the death of his family. Now he was left alone, left to live in this cold cruel world with an eternal life that he didn’t want.

If he could give this everlasting life away, he would, gladly even. He never asked for this, he was cursed to live forever. Having lived through generations and will live through more to come, Beomgyu wondered if he would still be living even after the world came to its end. Floating aimlessly inside a never-ending abyss until he came across another entirely new manifested universe.

He wanted to laugh; such immortality was something that humans would do anything for? Such immortality humans craved so much that they would slaughter the entirety of his race? Such immortality would do more harm than it would do good; It never even had any welfare in the first place. Beomgyu cursed the universe every day, wondering what he had ever done to receive this kind of life.

Life had no meaning to him anymore, not a life like this.

-

It was a sunny day, no different from the rest. Beomgyu was sitting underneath his tree with a heavy book on his lap, like any other day. He flipped the pages to his book briskly, staring at the small letters and symbols with an empty mind, he sighed. No matter how many times he had finished reading a book, he would come across ten new ones not long after.

He had read thousands of spell books, even mastered some of them in his free time, yet somehow, once he had finished reading one, a new one he would always find. New books he had never seen before, books with new information and new spells. Not that it would be a problem for him really, Beomgyu had all the time in the world.

He closed the book before closing his own eyes, letting the trunk of his tree hold the weight of his body as he leaned back. Yes, his tree, _Vyridi_ was her name. He could hear the whispers of the leaves that were swaying gently in the wind, feeling the gentle breeze himself one second after. The faint pleasant sound of water as it coursed steadily through the distant river.

Days like that, days when everything was so peaceful-so calm, days like that were the most dangerous for him. His thoughts would just wander around, wandering into the deepest parts of his mind during his calm state, and Beomgyu would just let it roam free. Years, decades, even centuries worth of memories were stored inside his mind. Good ones, bad ones, some he cherished with all his heart and some others that he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried.

Beomgyu considered himself lucky as he was still sane, though he wouldn’t lie that all the memories were definitely taking a toll to his mind and body. He emptied his thought, ignoring everything else as he succumbed himself completely.

It was silent for a moment, until a shrill laughter pierced through.

Beomgyu snapped his eyes open, eyes instantly searching for the foreign sound that perhaps had saved him from his thoughts.

His eyes landed on a pair of small figures that were running around near the gentle stream, not too far from where he was sitting. Beomgyu squinted his eyes as he made out the shiny silver hair and pointed ears of both figures, _elflings_.

Neither thankful nor annoyed for being disturbed, he snorted to himself. “Kids are so loud these days.” Beomgyu watched the two elflings silently, not stopping a small smile from climbing itself up to his lips.

He closed his eyes again; his thoughts were unable to take control over him that time with the constant cheery laughter and squeals in the background. It was nice, for a few moments.

Because what he didn’t expect was for the laughter to turn into screaming not long after.

And that kind of screams, a _pained_ type of screams, was something he had heard way too many times before, too familiar to his ears.

He looked towards the spot where both elflings were playing around before. He could see them near the stream, but they were not alone.

_Humans_.

The vampire stood up-alerted, ignoring the loud thump of his book that had fallen to the ground. A sense of dread filling him, chilling him completely to the bones.

There he saw, by the stream were a group of humans clad in black fur and armed with weapons. Beomgyu grimaced as he took in all their expressions, the same exact expression they would wear every time he saw them, so disgustingly arrogant, as if they were superior, better than everybody else.

One of the elflings was on the ground, trashing around as the humans held him down with their feet, and the moment the other one was being held up by his neck, Beomgyu was already moving.

The vampire rushed towards the river bank in record speed, probably the fastest he had ever been in decades. The gust of wind that followed suit knocked all the humans by their feet and Beomgyu couldn’t help but scoff. _What weaklings_. They stood up quickly though, aiming their guns and swords towards the uninvited newcomer immediately. If they were scared, they didn’t show it on their faces.

Beomgyu stood in front of the elflings, shielding them from the humans.

The humans stayed silent; their postures frigid yet alert. Firearms still in the air, ready to lunge at the unwelcomed being who was definitely not human.

One of them held their hand in the air, gesturing towards the others to hold their weapons. He was holding a sword adored with tiny gemstones on its handle. Beomgyu took notice of the golden chain hanging around his neck, whoever that human was, he assumed he was their group’s leader. “What are you?”

It’s been quite a while since Beomgyu last faced humans in such close proximity, been a while since he last smelt such disgusting stench. “I could be a threat if you want me to, don’t test me.”

He eyed the mortals one by one, daring them to come close to even a step to him. They didn’t seem to be planning on doing anything but they were still alert, one command from their leader was all they need to attack, to haul their swords and fire their guns.

Beomgyu looked behind him, the two elflings were shaking, huddled against each other. “Why did you harm these elflings.” The aura he was exuding contrasted completely against his young appearance, even the humans noticed it. He wasn’t bluffing when he said that he could be a threat.

“We are going to use this ground to train.” One of them finally spoke after beats of silence, “They are inside our practice-“

“This is a free territory.” Beomgyu bit back, “Since when does this ground belong to you mortals only?”

One of the humans took a step forward daringly, the human that Beomgyu assumed was their leader. He dragged his sword against the ground, the sound of steel scraping against the rocks and pebbles left an unpleasant sound to the vampire’s ears. The human was walking in a way-so confident that Beomgyu had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

“As you said, this is a free territory, we are free to use it however we like.” He took another step towards the vampire until they were mere inches away, the human towered over him, “You don’t own this ground either, who are you to tell _us_ what to do around here.”

Beomgyu closed his eyes and held his breath momentarily, holding the urge to just grab the mortal’s head and slam it to the ground. It’s been a while since he last felt that irritated, his patience was being tested.

“This is a free ground, you have no right to drive these elfings away, they are free to play here whenever they like. If you don’t like it then go train somewhere else, scram.”

The human visibly scowled, clearly displeased on being talked back, and Beomgyu was a fool to think that the humans would actually listen to him for once. “I’d watch my tone if I were you.”

Beomgyu noticed it, the tightened grip to the sword’s handle and its slight movement. “Right back at you.”

The human scoffed, grabbing the collar of Beomgyu’s clothes, reeling him forward. _Wrong move_.

“Men gather around,” The human smirked,

“Our training starts now.”

Just then, before anyone could move a single muscle, a thick black mist-like cloud materialized right above their heads. A familiar swirl of black and grey that Beomgyu had seen countless of times before, he glanced at it briefly before smirking in return, fangs peeking through his cherry red lips.

The human visibly paled, all colors drained from his face in seconds as his eyes widened at the mere sight of the vampire’s fangs. ”Impossible-”

“Looks like the death god is here to pick you up.” Beomgyu chuckled. “How lucky.”

-

Beomgyu was trying, he really was.

But to focus on reading a spell book while a loud obnoxious voice just wouldn’t stop singing in the background was something even _he_ couldn’t do.

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, crumpling the edges of the old, worn-out paper, something that he would definitely regret later on but at that moment, he couldn’t really think. He kept silent though, he was quite a patient man, he could bear with it no problem.

Until a particular high note made him snap.

“Would you just stop already?” He exclaimed.

The voice stopped, only for a few seconds before it started to sing again.

Beomgyu sighed loudly and slammed his book shut, looking up to glare at the being who was sitting on the branch of his tree. “Are you looking for a death wish?”

“Haha funny.” The being spoke before jumping down, landing in front of the vampire with a soft thud.

“You are seriously so annoying.” Beomgyu glared at him before standing up, “Why are you even here Yeonjun.”

Beomgyu mustered up his best death glare. Yeonjun looked the same as he did the last time they saw each other, his eyes were still as cunning as ever, the only change being the soul reaper’s striking yellow hair that used to be dark blue. His attire was slightly different; no longer was he wearing his signature black cloak that screams out death wherever he goes, but then again, that was decades ago.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because a certain vampire thought that it would be nice to kill a group of humans and I had to guide all their souls away?” Yeonjun retorted sarcastically.

“You wouldn’t have showed up if it wasn’t their time to go anyway.”

“Well, maybe their time to go could’ve been different if you had no intention of killing them.” He shrugged.

Beomgyu’s grip on his book tightened, he was seconds away from throwing it towards this new-found source of his annoyance. “You were the one who told me that _death_ is not something coincidental. Me, being here, is not a coincidence. They were meant to go today, don’t give me that you-can-change-fate bullshit.”

“Wow okay, sorry.” Yeonjun raised his hands in mock surrender.

The vampire rolled his eyes. “Anyway, they were the ones who picked a fight with me first, I considered it as self-defense. Imagine, this place is a free land anyone can step into, and those mortals claimed it as if it was theirs, and then they tried to drive those elflings away because apparently, they were on their training grounds. And _no_ , they didn’t even ask nicely, they used force, on children no less. Not that I’m surprised.”

“Elflings?”

“Yeah, two of them, Taehyun and Huening Kai if I recall correctly, I told them to go back home.” Beomgyu huffed, stepping forward before he stabbed a finger on Yeonjun’s chest. “And I think it’s time for you to go home as well, _death god_.”

“Okay first of all, it’s _soul reaper,_ not death god.”

“It sounds cooler shut up.”

“Sometimes I forget that you’re actually centuries years old.”

“Yes, I’m old. Can’t do anything about it now can you?” Beomgyu scowled. “Now buzz off, you, pathetic excuse of a death god.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. If you’re not here to take my soul then go away.”

Beomgyu huffed before sitting back down, leaning back, he positioned himself comfortably underneath the rustling leaves of his tree. With his spell book perched on top of his lap, he opened it and flipped through, wincing at the wrinkles on the edge of each paper.

Yeonjun was still standing there, looking at him without a word. He wasn’t saying anything, quiet, which was not like him at all. Beomgyu tried to focus again, ignoring the loud silence in the air, the only noise he could hear being the sound of paper rustling every time he turned a page over.

Yeonjun was being way too silent, that it uneased him. He lifted his head up to glance at the soul reaper, quirking his eyebrow at the unfamiliar behavior.

“I would if I could, you know.” Yeonjun spoke, breaking the silence he had made.

Beomgyu stilled at the words that was spoken by the soul reaper, studying Yeonjun’s expression closely. “I know.”

“I don’t control death.” He continued, “I only reap souls when it is their time to go, when they are meant to go. I can see everyone’s time, seconds counting down to zero until it’s time for me to pick them up. But-“

“But I don’t have one, you can’t see mine, I know.”

Then it went silent again.

Before a snort broke the silence a second time.

A snort that soon turned into a chuckle before slowly morphing into a laugh, Beomgyu was laughing like he had just heard the funniest, most hilarious joke in the whole entire world. Laughing because of his situation, his fate. He had concluded that his whole life was just a huge joke, a sick prank that the universe had played on him, and he found the whole thing to be amusingly absurd because he knew he was right.

“Are you okay?” Yeonjun asked, confused on the sudden laughter. He was a bit worried, but mostly confused.

The laughter died down as quickly as it had come. “I just find it funny that everyone is curious of you, so curious to see your face, _death’s_ face, and they know that they can only see you once, the moment when they are lying on their deathbed, waiting for you to come. They wanted to know what you look like, yet they are terrified of you, of meeting you.”

Yeonjun opened his mouth to say something but Beomgyu continued before he could utter a single syllable. “And here I am, having seen your face countless of times, I know what you look like, hell, I’m even talking to you right now. And it’s just funny that I might be the only being in this world that have faced death multiple times, yet I, myself, cannot die. How many times have we seen each other? How many times have I faced death, faced _you_? Not only that, I even asked you to take my soul away, I _asked_ damn it.”

Beomgyu knew that it wasn’t Yeonjun’s fault, not his fault that he couldn’t die. But his very existence, his presence, was so vexing.

Death himself was standing within his arm reach yet there was nothing he could do, the key to his very problem was standing right there, the solution to his misery, the peace that he had been longing for all his life. Everything was so close yet so-very far, it was as if the universe was taunting him, enjoying his desperate cries of despair.

Neither said a word afterwards and Beomgyu sighed, standing up. “Sorry, forget I ever said anything.”

“I know that it might not be right for me to say this but, I’m sort of happy? That you have no time.” Yeonjun spoke hesitantly, gauging the vampire’s reaction. “I only show up in front of someone when it’s their time to go, so I’m glad that I’m able to talk to you. Even I get lonely sometimes you know?”

Beomgyu looked at Yeonjun, the soul reaper was wearing a small smile, albeit sad. He tried to maintain a poker face but failed as he chuckled to himself, he gave up. “Right, you can’t die too. Who would be friends with you If I’m dead, huh?”

“I mean, there are other soul reapers out there-“

“Great, thanks for killing the mood.”

Yeonjun laughed, throwing his head back. If Beomgyu hadn’t known that the being before him was a reaper, he would’ve guessed that he was a nature fairy (minus the all black attire). His voice and laughter so bright and full of life, something completely opposite of death itself. “I see you more than I ever see them anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever even met another soul reaper.”

Beomgyu hummed, a cheeky grin to his face. “So, you get lonely without me? Is that why you wouldn’t leave me alone? You miss me?”

“I never said-“

“Flattering.”

The reaper groaned and Beomgyu chuckled.

“My work is done for the day, and how coincidental is that, the last group I had to guide away was killed by you, thought I would hang around for a bit, it’s been a while since we last saw each other anyway.”

“Right, how many years has it been? Been a while since I’ve smelt blood. Guess I’m not as patient as I thought.” Beomgyu pondered as he looked at the palm of his hands, recalling the feeling of the warm liquid dripping from his fingertips, the image of vivid red staining green patches on the ground.

Yeonjun smiled, eyes crinkling as he opened his mouth, a witty remark on the tip of his tongue before he suddenly stilled. Beomgyu noticed it, the sudden change in the soul reaper’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

Yeonjun stared at him blankly before he sighed. “Apparently, my work is not done for today. I need to go; another soul is waiting. The last one, hopefully.”

Beomgyu frowned, he wouldn’t admit it out loud but he never really realized how lonely he was before Yeonjun appeared. The soul reaper wasn’t even around him for too long, and yet he felt a pang of sadness the moment Yeonjun said he was going to leave. “You said you were free.”

“I thought so too.” Yeonjun looked genuinely upset and sorry that Beomgyu couldn’t even get mad. “Sorry.”

“’s fine.” Beomgyu sighed, a small smile to his lips. “I’ll just have to kill someone so that you can come see me again.” He joked.

Yeonjun snorted but gave him an apologetic look, he was still sorry towards his friend. It didn’t take long however, for his signature smirk to appear on his face once again, Yeonjun had an idea.

“Actually, this soul is near _Trycana_.” He spoke, a playful glint to his eyes. “Which isn’t that far from here.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widened a fraction as he tried to process what the soul reaper was saying. “Are you suggesting that-“

Yeonjun grinned and Beomgyu knew exactly what the reaper was thinking.

“Race you there?”

Beomgyu tried-he really did-to hide the huge grin he was sporting. He tried to act like he didn’t care, like he wasn’t all that happy that the reaper wanted to spend more time with him.

“That’s not fair, you can teleport.” The vampire complained despite the excitement that was pretty much evident to his face. He did try to look as reluctant as he possibly could, but he wasn’t the best actor in the world. Yeonjun knew that too, but he pretended to not notice it and looked the other way.

“And you’re fast as hell.”

“At least give me a head start.”

The reaper huffed. “Fine.”

“And you have to wait at least five minutes.”

“What? That’s way too long, the soul is waiting for me-“

“It’s just five minutes, not to mention the fact that you can teleport directly to the soul, while I need to search for it first.” Beomgyu frowned. “A few minutes changes nothing.”

“For a life and death situation, every second counts, a few minutes can surely make a huge difference.” The reaper retorted; a full-blown argument ready on the tip of his tongue but he rolled his eyes the moment he saw Beomgyu’s impassive expression. “You know what, five minutes? Fine whatever, I’m not going to argue with you anymore.”

And that was all Beomgyu needed to hear before he disappeared into thin air.

-

Beomgyu realized soon after that maybe he shouldn’t have asked Yeonjun to wait five minutes after his head start. He found himself wandering around _Trycana’s_ periphery, lost being an understatement. The inside of the forest looking quite menacing and unforgiving from the edges, especially since the night was looming in.

He peered into the never-ending sea of sleeping trees, barks standing close to each other with large leaves on its canopy blocking any source of light that wanted to trespass. _Trycana_ , the forest that breathed life during the day never looked so gaunt with the absence of the sun.

Yeonjun said that the soul was near _Trycana_ , but the forest itself was very vast, he had no idea where the soul was. Beomgyu strolled around the outskirts aimlessly, debating on whether he should enter the ominous woodland or not, but then the reaper never mentioned anything about the soul being inside.

Beomgyu squinted his eyes to the far distance, searching for any signs of Yeonjun, that being the grey mist that should be visible in the air to mark the arrival of the soul reaper. He saw nothing.

Beomgyu picked up his pace as his competitive side kicked in, he was going to find the damn soul before Yeonjun, if it’s the last thing he’d do. Tracing the edges of _Trycana_ , the vampire ran at a speed no normal eye could see. The chilling breeze of the night was biting his skin, prickling his face, but he paid them no mind.

He looked around, eyes flickering left and right in search of any living being on the verge of death, any dying soul that was waiting for the reaper to pick them up. Nothing.

Beomgyu came to an abrupt halt as he reached one of the borders of _Trycana_ , before him was a stone dam-like border made by humans to separate the creatures of the forest from their kind. Beomgyu eyed the old border, stretched out far and wide on opposite sides, it was clearly worn-down after decades it was first built; he reckoned a single tap from his fingers was all it needed for it to collapse. Beomgyu quirked his brow, beyond this wall was human territory.

Yeonjun never mentioned what creature the soul was supposed to be, when he said that the soul was near _Trycana_ , Beomgyu had assumed that it would be one of the faes or ents. Humans had never once crossed his mind.

But now as he came face-to-face with the timeworn wall, the thought was plausible. The vampire sighed, if the soul was really human then he wouldn’t have the chance to spend more time with Yeonjun, because there was no way that Beomgyu would just stroll inside the human territory. He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t slightly disappointed at the thought.

He didn’t even bid a proper farewell to the reaper.

Beomgyu huffed, slowly walking away with heavy legs as he stared at the stars that started to be more visible as the night got deeper. He stopped to gaze at the night sky dismissively, the moon was exceptionally bright that night. _How beautifully annoying_.

Sighing, he tore his gaze away, letting his legs take him to wherever place he would end up. He didn’t really care where, just somewhere, anywhere, anywhere besides the cold and empty place he called home.

He walked with the whispers of leaves accompanying him softly in the cold night breeze, the luminous glow of the moon that barely kept the darkness of the night away, and the weak cries that kept drifting in and out of his reverie.

Beomgyu stilled. _Cries?_

He snapped out of his trance, shifting his focus fully towards the faint sound. He could hear it clearly then, weak sounding cries that were coming from the shadows between the pitch-black woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just an introduction, soobs will appear in the next chapter :D let me know what you think so far :)) Thank you for reading <3  
> [twt @HyukasEndolphin]


	2. Chapter 2

Beomgyu stopped in his tracks. Holding his breath, he let his ears listen to the soft cry that disrupted the stillness in the air. That was something he had never experienced before, hearing a howl-like cry during the dark hours of a night. He was used to only hear nothing but the whistles of the wind that would always push him to go home in a not-so-discreet manner, or the rustlings of the leaves that would always try to lull him to sleep. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he could hear delicate twinkles of the night fairies that were fluttering around the forest’s periphery.

Everything was supposed to be peaceful and serene because that’s just how every night was, and this cry that was intruding the tranquility was very out of place. Beomgyu furrowed his brows.

Was it a cry for help? It sounded like a cry of pain, or was it a cry of woe? A mix of both? He didn’t know, but did it really matter? It was still a cry, a voice that was let out in the bleak darkness meant for no one to hear.

It was strange, Beomgyu was not a curious one. He was one who would rather mind his own business and would avoid getting involved in everything that was happening around him. Though that statement was already proved uncertain as he may or may not have sent a group of humans to the other side on the very same day.

Yet that night, he didn’t know why, whether it was just a mere excuse for him to avoid greeting the loneliness that was waiting for him in his home, Beomgyu couldn’t help but follow this faint whimper that kept fading in and out amongst the darkness. He let his legs guide him once again, to wherever this voice was coming from.

The vampire followed the broken sound with a strange curiosity he pushed to his mind. He found himself walking towards the forest, the moon following him from above. When the cries stopped, he did too, only taking another step forward the moment he heard it again. Slowly, the faint voice became more audible to his ears with each step he took.

It was there, he could hear it. Beomgyu was standing right on the edge of the forest and he could hear the sound clearly. It was close, he knew the cries were near, just a few more steps into the woodland and he could finally put an end to his forced curiosity. He’d walk into the forest, search blindly for the cries, walk back out once he figured out the source, stop stalling, and hopefully, he’d have the urge to go home by then. Or at least that was what he had intended.

He stepped into the woods, but something was not right, and it didn’t take him long to notice. Beomgyu froze as the air around him suddenly changed. Because what he didn’t expect was for the calm and gentle night breeze to turn into a heavy gale like a flick of a switch. And the next thing he knew, the wind was howling, roaring at the vampire relentlessly with such force that it almost swept him by his feet.

Beomgyu widened his eyes, looking around as if the rushing air was a visible being. Trees creaking, screaming in their sleep as their limbs trashed around against the onslaught. Leaves were fluttering around him, dancing violently inside the heavy gale. The wind was screaming at him, pushing him away, away from the woods. And it just wouldn’t stop, only getting stronger with each second passing.

By everything that had happened then, Beomgyu should’ve just called it a day and head home. He should’ve listened to the warnings given to him; the wind was practically yelling at him to not step another foot inside the forest. But that was the very thing that made him even more curious. Why? Why wouldn’t the wind let him enter? Was there something inside the forest that it didn’t want him to know and see? Something it deemed worthy of protection, hidden between the sea of trees.

Beomgyu merely smirked, all his fear long gone. Feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins, the vampire dug his heels deeper into the damp ground before his eyes flickered briefly towards the ominous woods.

-

The inside of the forest was calm, unsurprisingly. Beomgyu walked on the dirt path, surrounding floras humming life all around him. The cracking sound of fallen leaves and twigs underfoot didn’t go unnoticed as it pierced through the forest’s serenity. It was dark; the canopy wouldn’t allow any silvery rays of the moonlight to pass through.

The vampire wandered around, hopping over thick knots of roots as he hummed a tune under his breath. He kept walking through the seemingly never-ending barks of wood, letting his hands touch its coarse skin as he passed by. The faint sound was clear then, getting closer and closer. And surely, not long after, he came across the owner of those cries.

There he saw, laying beneath the sleeping trees, was a whimpering wolf that melted with the darkness surrounding it. Beomgyu took notice of the prominent stench of iron that was wafting around the air before realizing the arrow that was sticking out of its hind leg. It was shivering violently with its tail tucked between its leg.

Beomgyu stopped before he approached the wolf tentatively, the smell of blood getting stronger with each step. The wolf was beautiful, per se, because despite the creature’s wounded state, Beomgyu still found himself being entranced, jet-black fur hugging its majestic frame.

A few steps closer and he could already see all the details he had missed for afar. From the red that was pooling underneath to the gashes and dried blood that was clinging on its fur. One of its front leg was bent in a way that it shouldn’t, there was no saving it. A helpless cause, he’d say, unfortunate. A sudden realization washed over him as he took in the wolf’s broken state, he’d found it, a creature on the verge of death.

He crouched down just a few steps away from the wolf. “I won, Yeonjun.” He whispered to no one, no pride or malice behind those words.

The wolf flinched upon hearing and opened its eyes, its alarmed gaze meeting Beomgyu’s instantly. Both cries and whimpers left the air as it started to growl lowly in the presence of the vampire.

Beomgyu raised his brow at that, he took another step closer, gauging the wolf’s reaction.

The wolf didn’t move, it couldn’t. It could only growl, snarling at Beomgyu, baring its canines threateningly to make up for its weakened state. Though, it didn’t stop the vampire from taking another step closer. Beomgyu was…intrigued, to say the least.

“Hey.” He spoke in a hushed tone.

The only response that he got was the growl that never stopped.

“Yeonjun’s going to be here, don’t worry.” He continued. “The pain will stop soon.”

He stared wordlessly at the wolf, noting the rising and falling of its back that was getting weaker and weaker. He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath the moment he locked eyes with the wolf, a pair of beautiful arctic eyes staring back at him.

Eyes full of fear. 

And will to live.

The low rumbles of its growls never stopped, but it didn’t make Beomgyu leave. He found himself walking closer and closer instead, one step and another, until the wolf was just within his arm reach.

He was…drawn, so weirdly captivated by that creature. A being that was on the brink of death; yet still possessed a strong willingness to live, to protect itself from possible threats.

Beomgyu reached out his hand without thinking, and the next thing he knew, a set of jaw snapped tightly around his forearm, sharp canines sinking into his flesh.

The vampire winced; he should’ve seen that coming.

Beomgyu sucked in a sharp breath as he moved his arm slightly, an immediate pain searing from his forearm to his shoulder as the wolf’s teeth sank further into his flesh. Just because he was an immortal didn’t mean that he couldn’t feel any pain. Wounds still hurt, and that bite hurt like hell.

Beomgyu let his arm fall slack, showing no resistance. “I’m not going to hurt you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He managed small smile, albeit constrained. He reached out his other arm to hover above its snout before slowly moving to caress its cheek. The wolf froze for a good 5 seconds before leaning into Beomgyu’s touch ever so slightly, ears flopping down on its head, voluntarily or not, it was still something that Beomgyu didn’t expect. He smiled amusedly as the wolf relaxed its jaw, opening it carefully to not do any further damage on the vampire before it rested its head on the ground, growing limp.

It still hurt, but it didn’t really matter, the wound was going to heal within seconds after all. Beomgyu swung his arm lightly once released, trying to relieve the tension on his torn muscles. He only needed to wait for a few seconds and any of his wound, no matter how big or small, would heal instantly. His muscles repaired, wounds closed, and skin unblemished.

Except it didn’t.

Beomgyu couldn’t believe his eyes. He stared at his arm, at his skin, his skin that wasn’t knitting itself like how it’s supposed to, it was still torn, fresh blood dribbling out. His thoughts becoming erratic, all over the place, as he felt the throbbing pain that was very much there, the pain that wasn’t fading away.

A slight dizziness hit him and Beomgyu fell on his knees.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away, a gaping wound from his right elbow to his right hand, that was not healing. _He’s not healing._ Beomgyu clenched his fists, sucking his breath as an immediate pain spiraled across his arms, travelling throughout his body. Red blood kept trickling out of the deep wound, mingling with the wolf’s on the forest ground.

Yes, he was a bit disoriented, yet he couldn’t find any sense of dreadfulness anywhere in his mind. Instead, he saw _hope_. Beomgyu stood up groggily, his legs had never felt so weak, he shouldn’t be elated, but he was.

_There’s hope_ , _there’s hope_ , he chanted over and over inside his mind.

He lifted his head to see the possible answer to the problem he’d been carrying all his life, a key in a form of a _dying_ wolf. A shiver went down his spine.

There was no warning when Yeonjun arrived, but Beomgyu was expecting him, so it didn’t take him by surprise. The reaper materialized out of thin air albeit unceremoniously; surrounded by his signature mist-like cloud.

He noticed the wolf immediately, eyeing it strangely before looking at Beomgyu. “What did you do?”

Beomgyu furrowed his brows, hiding his injured arm behind his back unconsciously. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

“His time, it’s flickering- it’s changing.” Yeonjun squinted his eyes at unmoving wolf, “You did something, or, you’re _about_ to do something.”

“It’s a he?”

“Yeah, and don’t try to avoid the question.” Yeonjun glared.

Beomgyu stared at the reaper wordlessly before turning his gaze briefly towards his hope, a new-found objective set in his mind. “I’m…going to save him.”

Yeonjun gaped at him, an incredulous look to his face. “What?”

“I’m going to save him. I’m not letting him die.” Beomgyu repeated a second time, louder.

Yeonjun was still staring at him as if he had grown a second head. “Why?”

Beomgyu shrugged, staring at the ground sheepishly. “Just my own selfish wish, I guess.”

The reaper clenched his eyes shut, bringing up his hand to rub his temple. “Gyu, you can’t just- I was supposed to- you’re not-.”

“Take your time.” Beomgyu spoke coolly, earning a glare from the reaper.

“You’re not supposed to mess with a soul’s time.” Yeonjun seethed, frustration evident to his features. “You can’t just- change it. I’m supposed to guide him away- he is to die today.”

“If he’s meant to die today then how come I, as you said, could change his time? Huh?” Beomgyu retorted. “If his fate is to leave the world, then nothing could ever change it, nothing could ever prevent it. The fact that I could; means that he’s not destined to leave just yet.”

Yeonjun buried his face in his hands. “I shouldn’t have asked you to come here. You can’t just suddenly decide to save him out of nowhere; your boredom doesn’t justify anything.” He was at a loss of words, sighing yet again upon seeing Beomgyu’s impassive expression. “I suppose you’re still going to do it anyway. His time is changing already. You never listen to me, or anyone as a matter of fact.”

Beomgyu threw the reaper a glare before crouching down in front of the wolf. “I’m not saving him because I’m _bored_ , I have my reasons.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes, not quite knowing the reason behind Beomgyu’s sudden desire to save the wolf, but he wasn’t going to question it any further. “And how are you going to save him?” He challenged.

“My blood.” Beomgyu gave him a look as if the answer was obvious.

“Your blood.” He repeated and Beomgyu nodded.

Yeonjun was baffled. “What do you _mean_ your blood? You’re planning to give him your blood?” He questioned, slightly exasperated when Beomgyu responded with another nod.

“I thought you knew this already, but I’ll tell you again in case you forgot.” Yeonjun spoke, sarcasm evident to his tone. “Beomgyu, you’re an immortal, you can’t…” He trailed off the moment Beomgyu unveiled his arm, lifting it for the reaper to see. There it was, clear as day, a deep prominent wound decorating his forearm, heavily oozing blood. “…bleed?”

The reaper gawked. “How- you- you’re bleeding. You- your wound? You have a wound?” He stammered in a questioning tone, more to convince himself than anything else.

Beomgyu laughed, a wishful spark twinkling in his eyes. “Yeah.”

“But- how?”

“I don’t know, and that’s fine, I don’t need to know.” Beomgyu tore his eyes away to look at the wolf, that was so still, unmoving as if he was asleep. He couldn’t believe it, after years and years of him living aimlessly, not even bothering to hold any hope for his demise, he’d found it, he’d finally found it. A sliver of hope in a form of a withering soul. He knew he shouldn’t let his expectations flew over; he didn’t know whether everything was just another trick played by the universe. He’d have his hope risen all the way to the top just to be crushed down later on with no remorse.

It was sickening, twisted, Beomgyu thought, but it was still something. Even if the universe was toying with him, he didn’t care, because then he knew, that he could still bleed. He could still have injuries, he could feel pain longer than just a few seconds, it was the little things, and he’d take it, he’d take anything by that point.

He wanted peace; and if he could get that peace through the withering soul, through a precarious chance, then he’d swore with his whole life, that he wouldn’t let that chance slip by. He wouldn’t let that soul die, no matter what. It was a selfish, _selfish_ wish.

-

_Is it weird to stare at someone while they’re asleep?_

There was a young male sleeping on his bed and Beomgyu didn’t know what to do. He was staring silently, sitting on a chair awkwardly across the room.

He recalled everything that happened the night before. He gave his blood to the injured wolf, and surely, all its wound healed completely. Beomgyu carried him home despite Yeonjun’s protest, leaving the reaper grumbling alone. He listened to no one, and he wasn’t planning to anytime soon.

Once arrived, he washed the wolf clean off its blood before tucking it in to rest, and at one point throughout the night, the wolf shifted into its human form in its sleep.

It was a foreign feeling, Beomgyu had never let someone sleep on his bed, let alone bringing a stranger into his home. He was used to only hearing silence on a normal day, but he could hear the wolf’s soft breaths then, pleasantly filling the air.

The vampire never looked away, the wolf was gorgeous, he wouldn’t lie. His hair had the same color as his fur, the same shade of black, glossy underneath the sunlight. He had soft features, from the gentle slope of his nose to his pouty lips, Beomgyu wouldn’t mind spending hours just gazing.

Beomgyu didn’t know how much time had passed, though it didn’t really feel that long to him. He knew that the wolf would wake up sooner or later, yet he was still surprised when the wolf suddenly opened his eyes, beautiful arctic eyes, catching Beomgyu’s gaze instantly.

The wolf sat up quickly, eyes darting around the unfamiliar surroundings, flickering occasionally to the vampire sitting across the room. Beomgyu didn’t miss the faint gleam of fear that was reflected in those icy irises.

“Wh-.” The wolf lifted his arms before staring at his palms, his knuckles. He rubbed his forearms before feeling his chest. Looked at his legs, feeling his thigh, his thigh that he remembered was pierced with an arrow. He didn’t feel any pain, didn’t have any wound, not even a single scratch on him. “I’m…alive?”

Beomgyu couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling a slight tug on the ends of his lips. “Yeah, you are.”

The wolf snapped his head towards Beomgyu, shoulders relaxing slightly as he finally took in the vampire’s familiar features, recognizing. “You…saved me?”

“I guess I did.”

A moment of stillness filled the air briefly; Beomgyu couldn’t make up the expression the wolf was wearing. “But, I…bit you.” He whispered, face scrunching as he gestured towards Beomgyu’s right arm, which was loosely wrapped in cloth.

The vampire quirked his lips. “Exactly why I decided to save you.”

The wolf tilted his head, an obvious confusion he couldn’t hide. He was cute, Beomgyu thought. “What’s your name, puppy?”

“I’m a wolf, not a puppy.” He frowned.

Beomgyu merely smirked, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Mhm sure, so, your name, puppy?”

The said _puppy_ blushed, the tip of his ears blooming red. Beomgyu watched in amusement as the puppy scooted away, creating a fruitless gap between them. His reaction was cute, Beomgyu found it fun to tease him.

“They call me _Lvus_.” He muttered, looking anywhere but Beomgyu.

Beomgyu raised his brow. “They call you?"

The wolf forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m a fighting wolf, a _rixan_ if you will.” He said it in such an unconfident tone.

Beomgyu widened his eyes, all playfulness thrown out the window. Out of all the things that could be spoken by the wolf, out of everything he could’ve said, that was definitely not what he was expecting to hear. It didn’t make sense. “Is that still a thing? I thought- didn’t they put a ban years ago?”

“I’ve heard of that rule yeah…” He faked a laugh, eyes trailing away.

Beomgyu didn’t know what to say, a heavy silence soon permeated the air. It didn’t even cross his mind, even if he were to think, to ponder for hours, he would never have guessed that the young wolf was a _rixan_. But then it made sense, on why Beomgyu had found him near the border, near human territory.

Because _rixa_ , otherwise known as wolf fighting, was something that was created by humans, and was only done by humans, to simply provide them of entertainment. These humans would take and force-train wolves, turning them into nothing but fight machines. They’d put these wolves inside a ring, forcing them to fight each other until there was only one left standing. They’d put their treasures on the line, betting on the wolf they assumed was stronger. And they found it fun, entertaining, to guess which that was going to die and which that was going to survive.

It was cruel, inhumane, to play with lives.

_Rixa_ kept on going for years and years, with everyone turning a blind eye. Only started to change when one race was brave enough to speak up, the elves. Turned out, it only needed one individual for the rest of them to stand up, to speak up against this atrocious game. The other races followed after and maybe the pressure from them was too much, else the humans wouldn’t have declared a ban towards that sickening game.

But Beomgyu should’ve known. From his first-hand experience with these humans, he should’ve known what to expect from them. A feeling of displeasure churned inside of him. It was so messed up; _rixa_ was so messed up- _humans_ were so messed up. He tried to hide his anger, calming the flame inside him, for the sake of the poor wolf before him. He put yet another sentence on his ever-growing list of reasons on why he disliked those mortals.

Beomgyu only realized the deafening silence between them when the wolf started to fidget, playing with his fingers awkwardly under the vampire’s unreadable gaze.

“So, you’re a _rixan_.” Beomgyu asked, trying to lessen the cold tension in the air. “How did you end up in the forest?”

The wolf sucked in a breath, letting a few seconds pass by before he spoke. “I ran away.” Short and concise.

Beomgyu waited, waited for a couple of seconds for the wolf to continue, but that was it, that was all he said.

There was more to it, Beomgyu could tell. The wounds that littered the wolf’s body that night didn’t limit towards wolf bites or cuts and gashes from their claws only. There were whip marks, burn marks, and that arrow, that arrow which tip was laced with _poison_.

There was something he was hiding, but if the _rixan_ didn’t want to tell him anything else, then Beomgyu wasn’t going to pry.

“What’s your name, your real name? Do you have one?” He asked instead. The wolf’s eyes widened a fraction as he didn’t expect to be asked that kind of question.

“Soobin.” He replied immediately though, a smile so bright adorned his lips. “I remember- it’s been such a long time but I still remember”

“Soobin.” He breathed out. “It’s a lovely name.”

“Thank you.” The wolf beamed. “Tell me yours?”

Beomgyu did, letting a few seconds drift before he answered with his name, whispering “Beomgyu.” to Soobin, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

His name felt weird on his tongue, foreign, almost unfamiliar. It had been such a long time since he last told his name to somebody. It felt strange, weirdly exciting, and somehow, terrifying.

“Beomgyu.” Soobin repeated, a beaming smile to his curved lips. “Thank you for saving…” He trailed off; a sudden realization dawned upon him.

Soobin stopped as he started to think, something didn’t sit quite right. Beomgyu raised a questioning brow but he didn’t comment anything.

“How…did you save me?” Soobin spoke slowly. His eyes were looking at Beomgyu warily, unsure.

“How did I save you?” He repeated the question, earning a nod from the wolf.

“I lost too much blood. I was certain that I was going to die, yet right now, I am still alive with all my wounds completely healed, not a single scratch on me.” Soobin’s eyes trailed down his body once more, focusing more to his thigh than anywhere else, disbelieving.

Beomgyu hummed before he answered absent-mindedly. “I made you drink my blood.”

“What?”

“My blood. You drank my blood.” He repeated.

Soobin stayed quiet as he tried to digest the new information. “That doesn’t make any sense- I had physical injuries, cuts and gashes- You’re telling me that it all magically went away just because I drank blood?”

“I’m a vampire.” Beomgyu deadpanned.

Soobin looked at him as if he was crazy.

Beomgyu rolled his eyes. “You don’t believe me, don’t you?”

“Not at a-.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the wolf was suddenly on his back, one hand pinning him by his shoulder, the other one circling around his throat. He didn’t know whether it was because of the sheer strength binding him down or the sudden fear and dread that washed over him, but; he couldn’t move.

Beomgyu was whispering something in his ear but Soobin couldn’t hear anything. His breath stuttered as he felt the hand gripping his throat slowly crawled up to his jaw, sharp nails grazing his soft skin. The firm hand forced his head aside, baring the side of his neck completely for the vampire.

Soobin never felt so powerless, so terrified. He could feel Beomgyu’s chilling breath curling against his skin, feeling the vampire’s fangs scraping at a spot just below his ears. His heart was hammering wildly inside his chest; he felt like a prey, like a meal ready to be eaten. All his senses were screaming at him, telling him to move, to fight back, fight for his life, but his body wouldn’t listen. He was completely under the vampire’s mercy, and Beomgyu knew that all too well.

Beomgyu hadn’t fed in such a long time, and _fuck_ did Soobin smelled so good, he could only imagine how he tasted. _Heavenly_ , he supposed. He could hear the rushing flow of blood underneath the delicate layer and it was practically an invitation for him to come and have a taste. He grazed his fangs against the smooth, unblemished skin that was just begging to be marked. Just one push, one small push was all Beomgyu needed to prick the surface and sink his fangs into the wolf’s neck.

Upon hearing a whimper, Beomgyu snapped out of whatever state he was in and pulled away. Soobin was trembling beneath him, shaking like how Beomgyu had first found him in the woods. He looked so small then, an immediate guilt settled inside of Beomgyu.

“Shit, sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He moved away, hands pacing back and forth in the air, hesitant to touch and comfort the shaken-up wolf.

Soobin shook his head, brushing it off weakly as he tried to sit back up, Beomgyu helped him. “You weren’t lying.”

Beomgyu gave him a wry smile, a gentle hand caressing his back tentatively. “Why would I?”

“I thought they don’t…exist anymore.” Soobin winced, an immediate regret washing over him the moment his words left his mouth. “I’m sorry I-.”

“It’s fine, don’t apologize.” Beomgyu patted his back, hoping that it was enough to show Soobin that he wasn’t angry.

“A vampire…thank you, for saving me, thank you so much. You have my gratitude” Soobin lowered his head. He felt pathetic, honestly. He wanted to repay Beomgyu for saving his life but he couldn’t think of anything that would be up to par. Nothing he’d do could ever compare to what Beomgyu had done for him. “I don’t know why you would even save me after I hurt you, but thank you.”

“I don’t need your gratitude.” Beomgyu spoke, only realizing how harsh he sounded the moment he saw Soobin’s shocked face.

He had to say it, had to tell Soobin the reason on why he saved him in the first place. He had to tell him that, _no_ he didn’t save the wolf because he was a kind hearted soul that would help everyone in need. He had saved him because he needed something from him, something that he didn’t even know whether the wolf could even give.

Because he didn’t know whether the bite mark on his forearm was something that could happen again or something that could only happen once, just an unfortunate coincidence, a glitch in the system.

Beomgyu gulped. He didn’t think this thoroughly. He’d sound so, so selfish, but there was no turning back. He had to do it, had to take that chance. He took a deep breath before finally speaking.

“Soobin, I saved you because I want something from you.”

Beomgyu looked away, didn’t dare to look at Soobin’s eyes. He had helped someone and expected something in return. How humiliating.

But when Beomgyu turned his head daringly to glance at the wolf, he was surprised to see the excitement that was evident to his face. Soobin was happy, in fact, to be able to repay the vampire. He was glad that Beomgyu wanted something from him, glad that he could be of help, to repay in some way.

“Of course! I’ll do anything if it’s to repay you.” He replied, leaving the vampire perplexed. “What do you want from me? I have nothing but my life that you saved.”

Beomgyu held his breath. The wolf was way too eager to repay him. _This is it._ He thought. No more beating around the bush.

“I want a favor from you.” He looked at Soobin who was staring at him with expectant eyes. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Yes?” Soobin tilted his head. “What is it?”

“I need you to take my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, the second chap is finally here, sorry for the late update :(
> 
> talk to me :>>  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/HyukasEndolphin)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/HyukasEndolphin)


	3. Chapter 3

The night was still young, calm and serene in all of its glory. Yet that was the very reason on why Beomgyu cursed it, loathing the way everything stayed still, as if time itself had stopped in the absence of the sun. Everything was too quiet, too still. It was uneasy, to say the least.

Beomgyu shook his head lightly, fingers gripping the edge of a worn-out book. His plan was to finish reading three chapters before the moon revealed itself in the sky.

It clearly failed.

Beomgyu had been reading the same paragraph over and over; his mind forcing itself to try and make sense of the letters. He knew what it was about; the chapter was explaining the uses of runes and life stones, its origins and whatnots. Yet somehow, he couldn’t grasp the meaning of each sentence fully.

Beomgyu sighed and closed his eyes. He felt tired, and that was strange, because tired was something he’d never usually feel.

He let a couple of seconds pass by before opening his eyes, gripping the covers of the book tighter; he continued reading from where he left off. Though he couldn’t make much progress as the wind decided to be lively out of nowhere.

The stillness of the night was torn down, and Beomgyu felt like he could finally breathe again. He wasn’t particularly thankful for it either as he didn’t bother on closing the windows beforehand. Though he did leave the curtains untied, some of the breezes blew past its tattered state with ease, causing the tiny flare of his candle to flicker in protest.

He ignored it at first, letting the curious wind invade every nook and cranny of the small place he called home. Nevertheless, it was short-lived as the gust of air took away his one and only light source, leaving a thin wisp of smoke in return.

A sigh left his lips. It may just be the only thing he was capable of doing at that point.

Beomgyu tore his eyes away from the book, there was nothing interesting for him to read anyway.

He glanced towards the window, outside where the wind was inviting him to. The sky held clusters of twinkling gems, holding each and every one preciously in its embrace. Beomgyu clenched his fists as he couldn’t help but wonder; will he be able to sleep peacefully amongst the stars one day?

He decided after pondering for a while, maybe he’d go for a short walk.

-

Perhaps it was planned, or perhaps it wasn’t.

Beomgyu was walking alongside a river before he ended up at the edge of a cliff, where the gentle course of the flowing water met a point before it turned into a beautiful waterfall.

He sighed yet again, taking in all the familiarity in his surroundings. Everything was exactly the same as he remembered. He looked up to the sky, catching the swaying of trees from the corner of his eyes, feeling the icy breeze prickling his skin, hearing the thundering sound of water that came crashing down. He knew it all by heart.

Beomgyu tore his gaze away from the stars. Clenching his fists, he braced himself before looking down beyond the ledge. He sucked in a sharp breath the moment he was greeted with a view he had seen many times before. A view that _excites_ him and _agitates_ him at the same time.

And somehow… he felt like crying.

Beomgyu took a step closer towards the ledge, the rumbling noise of water was no match with the deafening silence inside his head. He wondered; how much longer must he wait until he could finally put his mind to rest.

He thought that he’d finally found it, thought that he’d found an escape, a way to finally break free from the silver shackles binding him down. He thought that the universe finally took pity on him; him who had been trudging alone with blood and tears dripping from the soles of his feet.

How pitiful.

How _resentful_.

“What are you doing?” A voice appeared out of nowhere, startling the vampire.

But Beomgyu recognized this voice anywhere, and he couldn’t believe it. He turned around in a blink of an eye, failing to conceal his surprise as his eyes fell towards a certain someone, someone he’d never dared expect to see. “Yeonjun?”

Yeonjun was there, _death god_ , in the flesh.

His thoughts moved faster than everything else. “You- you’re here so that means-“ Beomgyu stammered; his mind already making numerous possible reasons on why Yeonjun came to see him personally, but the one thing that he couldn’t not think about was the very same reason he would’ve never even tried to expect.

“I’m sorry.” Yeonjun apologized and it was as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over Beomgyu’s head, forcing him to clear his thoughts of all irrationalities. Beomgyu didn’t like the way Yeonjun spat out those two words; It was way too quick, as if it’d turn into poison if lingered for even mere seconds on his tongue.

Did he think that it’d hurt less?

Beomgyu couldn’t hide the disappointment to his face, and Yeonjun could see that. The soul reaper averted his gaze, daring not to meet the vampire’s crestfallen eyes. “I’m not here for you. I’m sorry.” He apologized a second time, then again, maybe it was all that he could do at that time.

“Then why are you here?” Beomgyu scoffed. “Was it entertaining? Do you enjoy taunting me?”

“What? Do you think of me that lowly? You know I’d never pull this kind of trick on you.” Yeonjun retorted in disbelief. “Sorry if it seemed that way.”

“ _Sorry if it seemed that way_?” Beomgyu repeated in exasperation. “Are you not aware of what you are? I’m standing before a cliff and a _death god_ appeared out of nowhere; What else am I supposed to think? Tell me, Yeonjun. Tell me!”

He couldn’t hear anything, not the rustling of leaves nor the crashing sounds of water. This silence that followed after was the loudest one of all.

Beomgyu clenched his fists and bit his lips. His breath was shaking but that was to be expected. He glared at Yeonjun, who was standing still with a strained smile and glistening eyes; and the moment the soul reaper opened his arms, Beomgyu felt his eyes sting.

Beomgyu walked towards Yeonjun, albeit clumsily, and closed his eyes when he felt a familiar pair of arms wrapping around his cold shoulders.

A faint surge of warmth took over him without warning, flowing through each and every vein, entering the empty shell of his soul as if it was setting foot inside a home that had been abandoned for a very long time. It wasn’t a foreign feeling, but it was strange all the same.

“It’ll get better.” Yeonjun whispered.

“That’s what you said decades ago.”

A pause.

“…I’m sorry.”

Yeonjun froze. “What for?”

“For lashing out, for overreacting, for everything.” Beomgyu laughed bitterly. “When you appeared, I thought that- I seriously thought that…”

There was a split second before Beomgyu felt the arms around him squeezing even tighter than before. Yeonjun muttered something under his breath.

“Sorry? I didn’t catch that.”

“…Nothing, don’t mind it.”

Beomgyu sighed, deciding to just let it go for that moment. “I lashed out on you yesterday too. I’m getting too impatient nowadays.”

“It’s alright; I understand.” Yeonjun nodded, patting Beomgyu’s back. “It is to be expected from a senile-“

Beomgyu punched him in the gut.

“You didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?” Beomgyu asked, giving no attention towards the way Yeonjun was writhing on the ground.

“You- you bastard grandpa. I see that your arm is all healed now.” Yeonjun coughed, clutching his stomach. Beomgyu lifted his fist once more and that’s all it took for Yeonjun to seal his lips. “I’m here because my job needs me to be here.”

“Your job needs you here?” Beomgyu repeated.

“A dying soul, around here, not yours.”

Beomgyu blinked. “Then don’t you have to go? Why are you still here? Hell, why did you even talk to me in the first place? You gave me nothing but misunderstandings.”

“I-uh happened to see you and thought that I’d stop by to say hello?” The reaper answered sheepishly.

Beomgyu stared at him in disbelief.

“I didn’t quite expect you to react like…before, and I couldn’t just leave a crying friend alone, now could I?” Yeonjun grinned, catching a disgusted glare from Beomgyu. “So, tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”

“Is this really the best time to talk?” Beomgyu huffed. “The poor soul is waiting for you.”

“Just for 5 minutes?” Yeonjun proposed. “As the genius of the century himself have said, if it’s destined to die then it’s destined to die.”

“I don’t recall ever saying that.”

“Of course you don’t. I’m the one who said it.” Yeonjun sneered and Beomgyu gave up.

“It was nothing important anyways. You should probably go now.” Beomgyu suggested at Yeonjun who was staring back at him in defiance, to show that he wouldn’t move an inch from his spot no matter what. Yeonjun raised a brow and Beomgyu sighed. “…Where is this soul that you’re supposed to guide? Let’s talk while we walk.”

-

“Soobin? You mean the wolf kid?” Yeonjun listened to Beomgyu as they walked through the depths of _Trycana_. “Right, you saved him. I was wondering what you were going to do with him.”

“You saw my wound yesterday…I never thought that I could bleed for more than five seconds, and I think you know where I was going for with this.” Beomgyu gave a half-hearted smile.

“Mhm, I can guess.” Yeonjun responded with a small smile of his own. “So? Did he agree?”

“Well I’m still alive right now, am I not?” Beomgyu scoffed.

“Well, it is kind of an absurd request.” Yeonjun shrugged. “I’ll be more surprised if there’s someone who’d actually do it.”

“But I saved him. I thought that he’d agree to do anything.” Beomgyu frowned. “It’s not like he couldn’t do it either. He said that he was a _rix_ -“

“Shh, quiet!” Yeonjun whispered. “ _Hide_.”

“Hide?” Beomgyu blinked.

“The soul is near.”

“Huh?” Beomgyu was puzzled, but he cast an invisibility spell on himself nevertheless. “I thought you liked doing fancy grand entrances? Where’s your smoke cloud? Pull out your giant pickaxe.”

“It’s _Rogue scythe_!”

“Right, your _Rice sickle_. Where is it?”

“You-“

A low growl abruptly cut Yeonjun off, leaving the string of insults lingering on the tip of his tongue. “ _Tsk_ , I’ll deal with you later.”

Beomgyu ignored him, his eyes found themselves drawn towards the newfound elephant in the room instead.

“Is that a…bear?” Beomgyu whispered to himself. In between the sleeping floras, a large creature was there, no further than a few meters from them, wearing the same shade as the night sky. Beomgyu couldn’t have seen it if it was not for the strikes of white on its chest and its eyes that reflected the light shun by the moon above.

Yeonjun hummed. “This is interesting.”

“What is?” Beomgyu questioned. “And why are we hiding again?”

Yeonjun sighed. “Are you looking properly? We shouldn’t interfere.”

Beomgyu squinted his eyes towards the spot where Yeonjun pointed. He couldn’t see it then; the night was only getting deeper after all.

But as the winds picked up and the trees swayed its arms, beams of light pierced through the roof of the forest, illuminating the once hidden ground.

Beomgyu widened his eyes from what he saw.

“…Soobin?”

It was like a scene replicated from the day before. What seemed to have agitated the sleeping bear, amidst the broken twigs and branches, stood a lone wolf, with dirt and blood decorating its ebony fur.

“Well isn’t this sad.” Yeonjun shook his head. “You basically gave him a second life and look what he’s doing with it. I guess it really _is_ time for him to go.”

Beomgyu gaped. “What is he- wait a second, he’s the dying soul you’re supposed to pick up?”

“Unless that bear goes into cardiac arrest in the next five minutes, then yes, I’m guiding the wolf kid away.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Beomgyu exclaimed. “Soobin told me that he was a _rixan_ ; he definitely knows how to fight, and even if he doesn’t, he’d still have his survival instincts. And it’s just a _bear_ , surely he’s not that weak?”

“Well, let’s ignore the fact that the said _bear_ is almost three times his size” Yeonjun sneered, earning a dirty glare from the vampire. “Maybe he only knows how to fight his own kind.”

“I doubt that. He bit my arm perfectly fine yesterday.” Beomgyu argued. “This bear doesn’t even have a single scratch on it.” 

“Well I don’t know, maybe he has a soft spot for his animal friends.” Yeonjun shrugged. “All we have to do now is just watch.”

Beomgyu furrowed his brows, dissatisfied with the reaper’s negligent answer. Something about that was bothering him, bugging his mind, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

_=_

_“I want a favor from you.” He looked at Soobin who was staring at him with expectant eyes. “I need you to do something for me.”_

_“Yes?” Soobin tilted his head. “What is it?”_

_“I need you to take my life.”_

_Silence filled the air momentarily, and Beomgyu should’ve known. He should’ve known from that sign alone that things wouldn’t go into the direction he was hoping for._

_“Sorry?” Soobin spoke in a tone so small, it was almost inaudible._

_Beomgyu sighed. “I need you to take my life.” He repeated a second time. Soobin was looking at him confusedly, but what was there to think about? He saved the wolf’s life, and he was just asking for a small favor in return. All Soobin needed to do was to listen on what Beomgyu asked him of, there was no need for pointless questions and answers._

_“You-you mean you’re trusting me with your life?” Soobin curled his shoulders unconsciously. “I can do that- I can fight for you, I can protect you-“_

_“I said.” Beomgyu raised his voice, not even bothering to hide the vexation seeping into his tone. “I need you to take my life. Do you understand? To put it bluntly; I want you to kill me.”_

_Soobin moved backwards without thinking, wrapping the tangled bedsheet around his limbs in hopes to create some sort of warmth to battle the sudden chill that travelled through his skin. He looked at the vampire with wary eyes; unsure, confused, but mostly, afraid. “You want me to…kill you?” he whispered out hesitantly._

_Beomgyu answered with a stiff nod. He was perplexed, to say the least. He was expecting Soobin to agree immediately, considering on how eager he had been to repay him earlier for saving his life. Moreover, Soobin was a rixan, so it shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for him._

_Because rixans were practically killing machines, ruthless fighters, that would take out anything or anyone by a single command from their owner. Having been trained, brainwashed, from such a young age, that they’d know nothing except on how to fight. Violence had been with them for almost all their lives._

_So why was this one hesitating to agree?_

_“You won’t get hurt.” Beomgyu added, patience getting thin. “I won’t fight back, if that’s what you’re worried about.”_

_“That’s not-“_

_“Don’t you need to repay me for saving you?” Beomgyu quirked his brow. He brushed off the slight guilt that crept up his back for pressuring the poor wolf. He wasn’t the kind to demand something in return for helping; but he didn’t care anymore. What pride? What dignity? He’d throw it all away if it meant that he’d finally get what he had been longing for all his life. It was within his arm reach. He thought that it was alright to act brazen, just this once. “Remember, I saved you. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me.”_

_“I- but, this doesn’t make any sense-“_

_“It doesn’t have to.” Beomgyu was hoping, hoping greatly that Soobin would just agree. “Just think of it as nothing more than a small request.”_

_It was faint, yet he could see it then, hesitation and uncertainty raiding every single of the wolf’s features. Not that Beomgyu wanted to jump into conclusions, but judging from Soobin’s body language, he already knew what the wolf’s answer was going to be._

_“I’m sorry.” Soobin whispered hesitantly, and Beomgyu could feel a sigh building up. “I can’t do it.”_

_Soobin lowered his head, afraid of meeting the vampire’s gaze. The air went still yet again, and Soobin was suffocating from the silence._

_“You can’t do it.” Beomgyu repeated. “How strange.”_

_Soobin didn’t dare to move an inch; he couldn’t, even if he wanted to._

_“Is it really because you can’t?” Beomgyu questioned, paying no attention towards the way Soobin flinched. “Or is it because you don’t want to?”_

_“…I-I,” Soobin clenched his fists. It was obvious what his answer was. “I…don’t want to.”_

_Of course._

_Of course, just when Beomgyu thought that he could finally rest. He should’ve seen it coming. He should’ve known by then, how the universe played its game._

_Beomgyu scoffed, cursing the universe once again for giving him such a fate. He leered at the wolf; the thing that granted him false hope, the thing that raised his stupid expectations._

_How unpleasant._

_“Then leave.”_

_Soobin whipped his head up, regretting it immediately the moment his eyes met Beomgyu’s. The vampire was wearing a blank expression; but his red eyes held so much resentment, so much remorse. He stared at Soobin in disdain, as if he had regretted his actions, regretting saving Soobin from the grasps of his fated demise._

_The same eyes that were holding so much warmth when he spoke of his name; where did it go?_

_They shared no bond and he knew that he had only spent nothing but a few minutes with the vampire; but in that few minutes, it was as if he had turned into a completely different-_

_Soobin froze._

_Of course._

_Of course Beomgyu was nice to him. He wanted a favor in return._

_Yes, that’s what it was. Everyone was only nice to him when they wanted something from him._

_Why was he so surprised to see the change of his attitude when he blatantly refused to do what he wanted?_

_Soobin would’ve agreed to do anything Beomgyu asked for. He would’ve done it all happily, the vampire had saved his life after all; But why did it have to be..._

_“I don’t want to kill you.” Soobin muttered out without thinking and_ _Beomgyu couldn’t believe his ears._

_What the hell? Was he trying to rub more salt into his open wound?_

_“I heard you the first time. My ears are working just fine, unlike a certain dog.” Beomgyu was wearing a smile, a stark contrast to his tone of voice. “I believe I told you to leave.”_

_Soobin flinched. It was only words, harmless words that left as quickly as it came, from a stranger no less._

_But why did it hurt?_

_“I’m- I’m sorry, I-“ Soobin clambered out the bed unceremoniously, the sound of bones cracking pervaded as he morphed into his wolf form halfway. Beomgyu watched indifferently as the wolf scurried, jumping over the nearest window before sprinting away without looking back._

_Beomgyu let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding as he watched Soobin, whose form was only getting smaller and smaller as it ran further and further away. He couldn’t help but feel a spark of envy inside of him. Soobin was running so freely, running away to relish what he couldn’t in his first life._

_He was about to tear his gaze away when the wolf stopped out of nowhere and turned around._

_It felt as if they locked eyes for a split second, but that was near impossible._

_The vampire tore his gaze, only to freeze midway the second a distinct voice spoke inside his head._

_“I don’t want to take any more lives.”_

_=_

Beomgyu snapped out of his train of thoughts. He didn’t know why the events from the previous day decided to replay in his head. It was something that he’d prefer to not remember, something he’d rather bury inside the deepest part of his mind to rot alongside all his other bitter memories.

He turned his focus towards the scene before him instead.

It was a one-sided battle. The bear lunged towards the wolf, enormous claws shredding through the still air before slamming down, creating tremors that travelled across the forest grounds. Beomgyu was surprised that the wolf managed to dodge the strike, though just barely. Then again, it was in no condition to even move.

“He’s not even putting up a fight. Is he doing this on purpose?” Yeonjun questioned, more confused than anything else. “Is he trying to die?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Beomgyu muttered, though it _did_ seem like the wolf was looking for a death wish. Soobin was only dodging, jumping around and showing no signs of fighting back. It was a meaningless battle with one predictable outcome.

Beomgyu remembered their first encounter as clear as day, under the very same ocean of leaves; how he met a wolf with a profound will to live, even in its dying state. There was no way that the same wolf would just surrender itself into the hands of death just like that.

It was like seeing a single strand of thread, struggling with all its might to not break.

But how long would it last? It was only a matter of time before that strand of thread snap and split into two.

“What you said before…I think you’re right.” Beomgyu muttered and Yeonjun glanced at him. “If it’s destined to die then it’s destined to die.”

Beomgyu had saved the wolf on a pure whim; as a result of his poor judgement, selfishness, and impatience. He saved him when he shouldn’t have.

He saved him thinking that it was meant to happen like that. The fact that he was able to pull Soobin out of the grasps of his end didn’t mean that he wasn’t destined to die just yet. He was wrong.

Soobin was meant to die, and he couldn’t change that; he couldn’t change fate.

Beomgyu chuckled.

If it were that easy to change fate then he would’ve already changed his a long time ago.

…

_So what happens now?_ He wondered.

Things would just go back into how it’s supposed to. Everything would just go back into how they should be, before Beomgyu intervened.

And that’s all to it. Beomgyu messing with a soul’s time would be overlooked, and everything would go back to the way it was, as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. Yeonjun would guide the soul away, like what he was supposed to do, and Beomgyu would just continue on living his mundane life.

Or at least that was what he originally had thought.

Beomgyu stiffened as he vaguely heard a voice, not his own, inside his mind; the same distinct tone he had heard the day before.

It started out as a small mumble at first, incomprehensible pattern of words, before it gradually became louder with each breath he took.

Soon enough, it was a mess inside his head. Beomgyu winced and shut his eyes; he didn’t know whose voice it was, or where it came from. Clutter of words forming countless of sentences, overlapping each other in a battle of decibels, and the ones that he could decipher weren’t the ones he’d prefer to hear and know.

“ _I’m scared_.” Chanting over and over under the sea of words, alongside a shaky “ _It hurts_ ,” followed by a small “ _help me_.” The others weren’t quite as vivid, drowning under the prominent cries and pleas; and Beomgyu felt like his head was submerged in water, as if he had taken those words as his own.

A sharp cry cut through, pausing the turbulent that wreaked havoc inside his already tangled mind. Beomgyu stilled as a howl of cry followed almost simultaneously with the one inside his head. He snapped his eyes open to see the wolf, wearing a coat mimicking the darkness of the vast night and eyes depicting its frigidity, unmoving on the ground.

The bear was nowhere to be seen and peace found its way back to the forest air; and when Beomgyu had thought that the night would be silent once more, slow thumps that sounded uncharacteristically similar to those of heartbeats resonated loud and clear.

As a vampire, it was one of the downsides to his enhanced hearing; being able to hear the smallest of sounds. He could hear the single beats that were ticking like a clock, as if it was counting down the seconds before it’d eventually stop.

Beomgyu shouldn’t have felt anything. He had encountered countless of deaths in his lifetime, heard their cries, their last breath, and the last beat from their heart.

But why?

It was as if time had slowed down with the silence that grew between each thump.

The wolf let out another cry, and words upon words flooded the vampire’s mind like a sudden tide. Beomgyu was thrown into an ocean full of sorrow, and he was drowning in the wails.

As the cries in his head stopped when the wolf stopped howling, only for it to start again the moment it let out another whimper; it was easy for Beomgyu to put two and two together.

The voices inside his head all belonged to the wolf, with all its howls and pleas.

But why was he able to hear its cries in the first place? Why was he able to feel its grief?

And why was he walking towards it?

Someone started yelling at him. Beomgyu then recognized it as Yeonjun’s voice. The soul reaper was shouting something at him, but his ears rejected every single word that came near.

Because all the vampire could hear at that moment was the never ending _“I’m scared.”_ Repeating over and over inside his mind; And like a tiny gust of air, that went away as quickly as it had come, a feeble whisper, _"I don't want to die."_ Resounded like a secret only for both of them to know.

He crouched down in front of the creature and opened his arms slowly, taking the limp wolf in a gentle embrace. The night fell quiet, at long last, as the wolf’s breathing evened between the vampire’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/HyukasEndolphin)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/HyukasEndolphin)


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